[carz0159]

Hello,
I am here to tell you about some problems I had today. When I turned my car on, I had an exclamation point and it said "Check BSD System". I thought nothing of it and assumed my sensors were dirty as the car is dirty and it was pooring for the last 3 days. As I started driving, my ABS and Traction Control Lights came on. I tried restarting restarting it, but it did not go away. After driving some more, the check engine and steering wheel light came on. Power steering was lost soon afterwards.

Im hoping this is just a sensor issue that needs to be replaced. I stopped by the Kia dealership to see if they could reset it or something, but they told me I had to leave the car there, and I didn't have time for that. The guy said he never saw that before and didnt know what to do.

He tried turning off the fuse box breaker inside the cabin and taking out the main big ECU switch. It didn't help. He said not to remove the connection to the battery.

Well, the car still works, so thats good i guess.

 

[carz0159]

Any Ideas?

 

[gene]

It's under warranty take it to the dealer. If you just want to know stop at a auto zone and ask them to check the codes.
Have you checked the belt?
And sprayed under each wheel well with a hose?
Last time I had more than one light on a kia it was my battery, of course I live in Arizona so the heat is rough on batteries.

 

[carz0159]

Have some updates guys!

I took it to the dealer around 1PM. After 20 minutes, I walked into the shop and asked the tech working on my car what codes it was throwing. His response was a ton. After checking the car out for an hour, they came to the conclusion that it was the wheel speed sensor. They called me in and showed me a ripped/"chewed through" wire. They then said that they see this all the time and when it gets cold, animals hide in cars and chew the wires (Heard the same story from Acura about the Knock Sensor that went bad). He told me that if that sensor goes bad it would throw all of those codes.

Some Pictures

Now, unlike what Gene just said, it isn't covered under warranty apparently because an animal did it. They quoted about $350 to fix it and said they would have to order a part that would be in on Tuesday. I asked for a loaner and they said they can't do it because it's not warranty work, and then after some complaining, changed it to only when work is being done on the vehicle because it is still drivable (Without Power Steering, BSD, and down on Power, but still). I made an appointment and headed home.

Once at home, I decided to take off the wheel (They didn't, only put the car on a lift) and take a look for myself.

I found this:

The wire was definately torn. But it looked ripped, not chewed through.

I think that when making sharp turns, the tires rub against the inside (taking off the paint) and ripping that wire.

After some time, effort, and solder, here is the result.

In order to reset the computer, I opened the fuse box in the hood and pulled all of the fuses that said ECU. There are 4. One big black on in the middle. One 10 amp, one 30 amp and one 40 amp. After waiting a minute and restarting the car. All was back to normal and blind spot and power steering worked!

No warning lights either!

I guess I didn't need to spend $350 after all. I am very displeased with the dealer for making me drive about 60 miles without a fully functional car and trying to charge me money to fix it, while they would probably fill out a warranty work form and bill kia corporate for it as well. It wasn't a good experience and Im glad the car is leased as when it gets old and has more problems, I would hate for them to treat me poorly and refuse a loaner (Which they promised when they sold me the car).

I guess it is like a luxury car though, expensive service and electrical problems! More similar to BMW than I thought.

 

[Yooshaw]

Great work fixing it yourself. Hard to tell what caused the tear though from the pics. If the wheel was rubbing the wheel well (and the wire), you'd probably hear it in the cabin.

What part did they try to order, a whole new speed sensor assembly? That's probably why they quoted you that price, they'd have to replace the whole thing rather than fix the wire.

I guess if it is rubbing, you'll see some wear on your solder point, keep an eye on it.

 

[carz0159]

Great work fixing it yourself. Hard to tell what caused the tear though from the pics. If the wheel was rubbing the wheel well (and the wire), you'd probably hear it in the cabin.

What part did they try to order, a whole new speed sensor assembly? That's probably why they quoted you that price, they'd have to replace the whole thing rather than fix the wire.

I guess if it is rubbing, you'll see some wear on your solder point, keep an eye on it.

Thanks. It is hard to tell, but the fact that paint rubbed off to bare metal is a good indication that it was the tire. They did quote a whole new wheel speed sensor. I still think the price is high though. I found that the part is about $100

http://www.partswebsite.com/kiapartsdept/?searchall=speed+sensor&searchButton=Search&make=132&model=1602&year=2014&p=0&searchkey=yes&i=2&type=parts

They don't have Cadenza, but I figured that the optima is close enough.

I will keep an eye on it, but it can be hard to hear with the radio on, windows closed (Great sound proofing) and other cars nearby. I think it happens on tight turns such as u turns, but at higher speeds (> 5-10 mph).

These are just theories, though. I guess I put the first DIY for fixing the car on the website.

Having other cars outside the warranty really taught me how important DIY is! I drove the car about 30 miles after the fix and it drives great again. Having the electrically assisted power steering really helps!!! Also, Im pretty sure that taking out the one big ECU fuse will clear all check engine codes! Useful for later in ownership.

 

[Swive]

Great write-up! Thanks!

 

[MadMax]

True story, mom had a 07-08 Kia spectra, drove on a flat drivers side front tire for at least a mile...(she was scared and didn't want to stop). Tire tore down the wheel skirt and pulled down a fat wire bundle, could have been 50-70 wires in the wrap, and torched the whole thing. $5300 claim with insurance to get it fixed....


I swore after seeing that I'd never own a kia, not that I'd ever drive on a flat for a mile, but those wires shouldn't be that close to the moving parts...why weren't they in the engine compartment and travel into the firewall from the engine bay? Was that car just too small?


Anyway, just thought I'd share.